Estelle

2 | His Office (Edited)

My desk is just how I left it a week ago. It is in a small lobby right outside of Mr. Irey's office. Glazed glass double doors separate my desk from his office.

As I start my work, I look at the clock and notice that Mr. Irey still hasn't shown up yet. Usually he arrives shortly after me. Confused, I take a few papers, planning to put them on his desk for him later. As I open his office door, I see Mr. Irey sitting at his desk. He is hunched over his desk focused on his computer.

"Mr. Irey?"

He lifts his head from his computer to look at me. I slowly approach his desk, noticing how dark his office is and stepping over crumpled scraps of paper. I hand him the papers and he takes them silently. Mr. Irey has never been one to speak much. His brows furrow together as he focuses on the papers I handed him.

I sigh as I begin to pick up the papers from around his office.

"Ms. Estelle." His voice is deep and husky and my heart tightens at the sound. It has been a whole week since I heard him speak and I didn't realize until now how badly I wanted to hear it.

"Yes, Mr. Irey?"

I turn to face him and notice his full focus is on me. His brows are still furrowed as he looks at the crumpled papers in my hands.

"Don't bother with that. It is not in your job description. I'll clean." His Italian accent fills every word but sounds smooth.

Mr. Irey stands up and begins to pick up the papers too. I drop the papers in the trash and walk over to the blinds.

"Why are there papers all over your office?"

I hear a grunt from behind me. "I was frustrated."

I pull open one blind and look down on the other buildings far below. We are at the top of a 70 story skyscraper. The glass is clean and the light cuts into the dimly lit room, making the office look larger.

"About what?"

I turn to open another blind when I notice Mr. Irey looking at me. The sunlight flooding the office shines around my figure making me feel warm. He has paused picking up papers and is now looking at me with the same look from the bar.

Relief.

"Mr. Irey? What was bothering you?"

He blinks and returns to cleaning his office.

Nothing important now. I can tell what he is thinking without asking him. I've learned how to read him.

I kneel down and reach for a few papers, staking the ones not crumpled. The ink on the pages catches my eyes as I notice the date.

"When did you come back?"

Mr. Irey picks up the last piece of trash and turns to face me. He eyes the paper in my hands and then looks back at me. He throws the last bit of trash into the trash can and sits back down at his desk. My heels click as I walk around to the front of his desk and look down at him, expecting him to answer me.

I am patient with Mr. Irey. He is a quiet man, 9 years older than me at 35. I have heard that many secretaries have quit because they hated how quiet he is. I find his silence calming and comforting. When I first started working with him, he hardly spoke a word. Now he usually answers my questions either verbally or through body language that I have learned to pick up on. I always make an effort to have a conversation with him at least once a day. Usually it's one sided but often times I don't mind.

"You didn't leave this whole week, did you?"

Mr. Irey looks up at me. I squint slightly as my face is lit up by the bright sun in the office. He furrows his brows again.

"If you keep furrowing your brows you will get wrinkles before you are 40," I say quietly with humor in my voice and a light smile on my lips.

Mr. Irey's eyes shine for a second as the corners of his lips curve upward. In the light, his masculine features are emphasized and I can't help but blush the more he looks at me. Mr. Irey rarely smiles. His face is always stern and stoic. I treasure the moments I have made him smile.

He is the most handsome man I have ever met, but I must keep things professional between us. I try my best to calm my flustered heart and drain the color from my cheeks. My nose scrunches up and I straighten my face, wiping away my smile to act serious.

I realize that Mr. Irey is not going to answer my question. Through our mostly silent exchange, he already answered my question. He never left or at least not for long.I turn and head for the office door.

Why did he come back or not even leave? He is always vigilant about how business and never has personal reasons to miss anything. What is happening now?

"Ms. Estelle." I turn to look at him before I open the door to his office. "I was gone for three days before I came back."

I frown. "Why did you come back so soon? Did something go wrong with the business deal?"

"No, I just needed to come back for something."

"Why didn't you tell me you were back a whole four days early? I would have come into work sooner." I look at the full trash can.

"You deserved a break." I look at Mr. Irey before leaving his office.

At the end of the day, I throw my purse onto my shoulder and look at the doors to his office. I sigh and knock before walking in. Mr. Irey is still at his desk working.

"It is time to go home."

Mr. Irey looks up at me and back to his computer. "I'll leave in a bit."

I am not sure if he is being honest. I feel responsible for not helping him take care of himself the last few days. It's not my responsibility but I still feel the need to.

I sit down on the couch by his desk and cross my legs. I have seen how messy his office is and the containers of take out in the trash. The whole time I was gone, he had been working in here and must have slept on the couch.

"Ms. Estelle, you may leave."

"I'll wait for you."

His eyes meet mine and he keeps his stoic expression. Clearly he is expecting me to listen and give up the staring contest. I continue to look at him, keeping my face calm to show I am not budging. Mr. Irey is in a position of power and everyone obeys him. I have a tendency to test my limits with him. I don't know how I have not lost my job yet to be honest.

Eventually he sighs and looks back to his computer. I look at my shoes and wait for him to be done.

Mr. Irey has been acting strange the last few months. He used to hardly talk to me and now he seems to have opened up more. I can't help but feel proud and accomplished when he smiles at me even if they are small and fleeting smiles.

I have tried to figure out if there is a reason he is quiet. He hasn't answered any of my questions about his personal life and I can't find much information about him online.

I have come to the conclusion that he is either quiet due to something from far in his past, or just because he is a quiet and observing man. He has never missed anything about me and seems to read me like an open book. His ability to read people must be why he is such a successful businessman. That or I'm just that easy to read.

The sound of a laptop closing brings me out of my trance. I look to see Mr. Irey standing and grabbing his keys.

"Ready?" I ask.

He nods and we head out of the office together.

That night, I do a sweep of my apartment, collecting all of the weapons I have hidden. Recently, I have noticed a few shady people around my work and home. They seem to be watching me and even if they could just be a bunch of creeps, my fear of Mr. Vallorani is getting the best of me.

Every gun and knife is clean. Every one is in a hidden but useful place.

Just in case.